Madeleine Korbel Albright

Madeleine Korbel Albright (1937- ) was the first woman to head the Department of State of the United States of America. She was the US secretary of state during 1997-2001.

She was born in Czechoslovakia but emigrated to the United States in 1948 with her family. It was the time of the communist takeover of her country. She earned her PhD in governance from Columbia University in 1976.

She served as US ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997.